NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – The Atlantic 10 Conference earned high marks in the latest Academic Progress Rates released by the NCAA Wednesday. This includes ranking fifth among all 32 Division I Conferences with a 981 average.

The league boasted 40 squads with perfect scores and 104 teams with a score of 990 or better. In total, A-10 188 teams were at or above the national average, representing 70 percent of all A-10 teams.

Of the 21 championship sponsored sports in the Atlantic 10, 19 had a sport average higher than the national average. There are six sports (field hockey, women’s cross country, lacrosse, women’s swimming & diving, women’s indoor track & field and women’s outdoor track & field) in which every A-10 team in that sport is above the national average.

The most recent four-year Division I APR average is 973, up three points over last year. The average four-year rate also rose in the high-profile sports of men’s basketball, football and baseball. Every Division I sports team calculates its APR each academic year, based on the eligibility and retention of each scholarship student-athlete. Teams scoring below certain thresholds can face sanctions, such as scholarship losses, restrictions on practice and ineligibility for NCAA Championships. Rates are based on the past four years’ performance. No Atlantic 10 team in any sport will face sanctions or penalties.

Last week, the Atlantic 10 Conference had 56 of its programs earn national recognition from the NCAA in the Academic Progress Rate. Those 56 programs ranked in the top 10 percent of their respective sports in APR scores and the league ranked fourth in number of teams publically recognized by the NCAA, behind only the Ivy League, the Patriot League and the Big East Conference.

The APR provides a real-time look at a team's academic success each semester by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete on scholarship. The APR accounts for eligibility, retention and graduation and provides a measure of each team's academic performance.